A coworker of mine is good friends with a lawyer who attended Northwestern, one of my top picks, and he spoke with her about my plans of going to law school next year and suggested I talk with her and gave me her phone number.

I was thinking about asking her to meet to have coffee or lunch (my treat of course); is that appropriate or should I just talk over the phone? Also, once meeting with her I was interested in perhaps shadowing her for a day to see what types of things she is doing. I don't want to overstep any lines since she is already being very gracious in agreeing to talk with me.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what types of topics they would discuss with a practicing attorney they are meeting with.

I am a little anxious because I have never really done much networking and I am somewhat of an introvert but I am making a concious effort to get some practice and improve in this realm.

efleury wrote:A coworker of mine is good friends with a lawyer who attended Northwestern, one of my top picks, and he spoke with her about my plans of going to law school next year and suggested I talk with her and gave me her phone number.

I was thinking about asking her to meet to have coffee or lunch (my treat of course); is that appropriate or should I just talk over the phone? Also, once meeting with her I was interested in perhaps shadowing her for a day to see what types of things she is doing. I don't want to overstep any lines since she is already being very gracious in agreeing to talk with me.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what types of topics they would discuss with a practicing attorney they are meeting with.

I am a little anxious because I have never really done much networking and I am somewhat of an introvert but I am making a concious effort to get some practice and improve in this realm.

Thanks for any help.

Everything I read sounded fine except for possibly the shadowing... Not sure how that would actually work. Not sure the firm would approve it (unless they have their own practice).

I would just call and ask to meet for coffee/lunch (they will likely pick coffee). Phone calls are cool, but I think they will be more likely to remember you if you meet in person. It will be easier to build a relationship if you meet face to face.

2L here. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer as to what you should or shouldn't ask for; it depends on personality and type of meeting.

I would probably not ask about shadowing, although firms usually have no problem with it. I know a lot of 1Ls try it out before applying to firms, so perhaps that can come later. The benefits to you are probably limited at this point, anyway. Coffee, however, is an excellent idea. Just ask if she would have time for you to buy her a cup of coffee sometime. As for questions to ask (and if you meet for coffee, I would wait to ask until then), I would recommend questions that you are truly curious about. If I were you, I'd ask what you should consider in terms of getting a job ITE, what they look for when hiring law students, what the secret is to success in law school, etc. Just be yourself, and try to have a good time. You really have nothing to lose, so just go with the flow, so to speak.